A consumer’s guide to the best and worst of sports media and merchandise. Ground rules: If it can be read, played, heard, observed, worn, viewed, dialed or downloaded, it’s in play here.

What: Knockdown, The Harrowing True Account of a Yacht Race Turned Deadly.

Author: By Martin Dugard ($24.95, Pocker Books).

The Sydney-to-Hobart sailboat race is an Australian religion, of sorts. It begins the day after Christmas, and it has become one of those badges of honor among many testosterone-laden Aussies. A few women have tried and succeeded at it too.

It goes 735 miles, from Sydney on Australia’s east coast south-southwest to the port of Hobart, on the island of Tasmania. To get there, one must cross the Bass Straits, known among sailors as “Hell on High Water.” This is summertime down under, so the weather, while never an easy sail on a fishing pond, is not winter-biting.

So when the fleet took off in December 1998, there was some fear, a few signs, of bad weather ahead, but no concept of what was to happen. Which was, basically, a hurricane off the coast of southeastern Australia that batted around the collection of racers in the Sydney-to-Hobart trek like toys in a wavepool.

When it had ended, six men had died, including Olympic sailor Glyn Charles of England. More than 50 sailors were rescued in one way or another after being tossed overboard, dozens of expensive boats were turned into driftwood and the story made headlines around the world.

Now, less than a year later, adventure writer Dugard, who lives and works from Orange County, has written the story of the race, of the pain and suffering and heroics and agony and lessons learned. It is a spellbinding tale told by a writer capable of such work.

Some people think that climbing Mount Everest is the ultimate test of man’s will over nature. And it may very well be. But Dugard takes the reader to a place and a time and a happening that could arguable rival Everest.